Last Conclave's secrets

Elisabetta Piqué has known Bergoglio for over ten years. In her new biography of the current Pope, "Francis: Life and Revolution", she lets readers in on the hidden gems of Francis’ life and shows how he turned his motto “time prevails over space” into practice

Andrea TornielliVatican City

Bergoglio who just a few hours before being elected Pope rediscovered the vocation for chemistry he had as a youngster, giving a cardinal colleague some advice on medicine doses as they sat down to eat. Bergoglio who was elected after a voting session had to be cancelled because of a mistake with the ballots. Bergoglio who as Archbishop of Buenos Aires had to put up with a good deal of spitefulness from a group of rivals who held powerful positions within the Roman Curia.

There’s this and much more in Argentinean Vatican correspondent Elisabetta Piqué’s book “Francis: Life and Revolution” (published by Lindau, pp. 384, EUR 19). Piqué, who writes for Argentinean paper La Nación, has known the Pope for over a decade. The book, which will be in book stores next week, is crammed with testimonies and behind-the-scenes information. Starting with the ballot counting mistake made in the secrecy of the Sistine chapel.

A number of cardinals apparently approached Bergoglio in the final hours before the Conclave and said to him: “Careful, it’s your turn now.” Bergoglio apparently got 25 votes in the first voting session on the evening of 12 March. But according to other rumours he actually got fewer votes than this and there were allegedly two or three papabili candidates ahead of him. The man tipped as favourite to succeed Benedict XVI was the Archbishop of Milan, Angelo Scola, who apparently started off with 30 votes to his name.

That evening Bergoglio invited Argentinean colleague and Curia member Leonardo Sandri to eat with him. “Come, sit next to me, let’s eat together,” he said. There was vegetable soup on the menu. “Sandri wasn’t feeling too well, he had pharyngitis and his eyes kept on watering – the book says -. Bergoglio, who had studied chemistry, took a close look at the antibiotic Sandri was taking and advised him on the doses to take. But they couldn’t avoid talking about the Conclave...” “Prepare yourself, dear friend,” Sandri told his fellow countryman.”

It was in the third voting session, the last of the morning of 13 March, that Bergoglio’s votes leapt to 50, beating other candidates. In the fourth voting session, the first of the afternoon, the Archbishop of Buenos Aires came close to getting the 77 votes needed to become Pope. Straight after this, voters cast their ballots again for the fifth time. But something went wrong. The cardinal counting the ballots saw there was one too many – 116 votes cast by 115 electors. One of them had written his chosen candidate’s name down on one ballot without realising that there was another piece of paper stuck to it. So when the moment came for the votes to be counted, that extra blank ballot was a problem. The ballots were not scrutinised but burnt and another voting session held. Finally, in the sixth session, Bergoglio’s name came out on top, with 90 votes to his name, according to the book’s author.

The book also looks at the difficult relationship Bergoglio had with the Roman Curia before his election. Piqué writes of a group of people who “start to act against him” and names the former Nuncio TO Argentina, Adriano Bernardini (currently Nuncio to Italy) and the former Secretary of State, Angelo Sodano, among the men. Most problems were to do with bishop nominations because Rome rejected the candidates put forward by the Argentinean Episcopal Conference. “The group which took a stance against Bergoglio included the Archbishop of La Plata, Mgr. Héctor Aguer some bishops and priestly and lay institutes and some UCA professors. The former ambassador to the Holy See, Esteban Caselli, a Menem supporter and highly controversial figure, worked in the background and could easily access the Vatican buildings because of his friendship with Cardinal Sodano. He was even nominated papal “gentleman” in 2003, the book says.

Bergoglio was accused of not defending the doctrine, of going for pastoral actions that were too bold and of not showing more determination in his public discussions with the Argentinean government. He was also criticised for baptising children born out of wedlock.

The future Pope’s relations with a section of the Roman Curia became more complicated over the past two years. Mgr. Víctor Manuel Fernández - who had helped Bergoglio prepare the final document that sealed the meeting at Aparecida - also got involved. The cardinal fought for years to get the Holy See to make his nomination as rector of the Catholic University of Argentina (UCA), official. Fernández flew to Rome and despite the fact the audience had been scheduled and Bergoglio’s letter of presentation, he was refused the meeting in the relevant Vatican congregation, at the last minute. The UCA rector whom (as he says himself) the Vatican showed conceit and contempt towards, was the first Argentinean bishop Francis nominated. He knew how to grin and bear this kind of attitude in silence, following the motto: “Time prevails over space.” Which is precisely what happened on 13 March 2013.